Seventh Sunday of Easter – June 1, 2025
The Masses of the Sundays of Easter time are also called the “Masses for the neophytes,” those newly baptized. These “new Christs” have been grafted to him through baptism. As their name suggests, they are like new plants that need careful tending. Too much water too soon, and roots may rot; but not enough experience in the highs and lows of faith can weaken those roots and keep these saplings from growing hardy.
The Christian community can help nurture these neophytes by continuing to be present to them, sharing their own experiences of dying to their old life in order to rise with Christ. For the heart of a resurrected life is offering praise to God even when it’s hard.
The Eucharist is our public commitment to offer ourselves completely to the Father for the sake of unity with others in Christ.
At the brink of death, both Stephen and Jesus praised God because their faith was their central orientation of life, constantly drawing them ever closer to the Father. That union was Jesus’s prayer for his followers—that they may all be one.
In the Eucharist, Communion is more than nourishment. It is our public commitment to offer ourselves completely to the Father for the sake of unity with others in Christ. Not all can rise to wear the crown of martyrdom. But all of us who share the Eucharist are called to lay down our lives each day so Christ might live more fully in us.
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